Advantages of Stainless Spring Steel Strip
In the world of manufacturing and engineering, materials often take on a hidden hero status. Stainless spring steel strip is one such material.
301 Stainless Steel Strip is especially well-suited for producing high strength, room temperature springs. It possesses an excellent combination of ductility and strength, even with the addition of full hard temper.
High Yield Strength
When it comes to springs and other components that must absorb and re-exert force over time, the ability of the material to reliably return to its original shape is critical. This is why stainless spring steel is often preferred to other alloy types for applications that demand high elasticity, resilience and tensile strength.
The specific composition and heat treatment Stainless Spring Steel Strip of spring steels set them apart from regular steel, allowing them to achieve superior elasticity while maintaining high tensile strengths. The combination of these qualities make spring steel ideal for use in a wide variety of springs and other mechanical parts, including retaining clips and tabs.
In general, stainless spring steels are easier to work with than other types of alloys, requiring lower temperatures to achieve the same level of forming and cutting. This translates to faster, more cost-effective production and greater design flexibility.
Depending on the desired characteristics, stainless spring steels can be hardened through a process known as work hardening, which involves hammering, rolling or drawing to increase their tensile strength. This can help to reduce the overall weight of a finished part while increasing its tensile strength and resilience.
BSS stocks stainless spring steel strip in a number of different thicknesses and tensile strengths. The standard grade we carry is 1.4310 (301), which offers excellent corrosion resistance and good workability, even after hardening. This grade also exhibits a low degree of anisotropy, which helps to reduce bending and warping.
High Corrosion Resistance
The ability to withstand the elements is an important attribute that spring steel holds. It is able to withstand harsh environments, weather conditions and extreme pressures without damage or wear over long periods of time. Its durability and strength makes it a popular choice among engineers and manufacturers for applications that require strong, durable materials that will hold up to harsh environments and pressures.
A common method to protect stainless steel spring wire from corrosion is via electroplating, a process that involves coating the metal with a conducting material. This allows the steel to bind with positively charged corrosion-resistant metals, such as chromium, silver or copper. These types of metals also bind well with spring steel to provide corrosion resistance and strength.
This type of stainless steel strip is ideally suited for use in the manufacture of compression, extension and torsion springs as well as constant force springs, retaining rings and metal stampings. It is capable of attaining high tensile strengths at room temperature and can be cold worked to achieve excellent ductility. It is available in tempers from 1/16 hard through full hard, and is capable of sustaining a high fatigue life.
301 high yield spring steel strip is readily machinable, and is available in thicknesses from 0.25mm through 3.0mm. It can be blasted with alumina, cerium oxide or garnet to achieve a variety of finishes.
High Elongation
The elongation of stainless spring steel strip is important for many applications because it allows for the material to be easily shaped, which Hardened & Tempered Steel Strip Supplier reduces production costs in terms of forming and finishing. Using a cold-rolled alloy that is corrosion-resistant also saves money by eliminating the need to paint or plate the product.
The high elongation of the stainless spring steel strip is mainly due to its low hardening level, which makes it possible for the material to remain in the martensite phase after rolling. This is the case for both austenitic and precipitation hardenable stainless steel strips for springs. With both of these types of materials, the elongation increases with an increased % temper rolling reduction. However, this increase is greater in the direction of the rolling (LD) than in the direction perpendicular to it (TD), resulting in an anisotropy that makes it difficult to form the strip into the desired shape of a spring.
In order to eliminate this anisotropy, it is suggested that the LD and TD values of the aging process be varied in order to achieve a value that is close to the LD value, but does not exceed the TD value. The duplex structure spring steel strips produced in this way exhibit a spring limit value Kb which is fairly plane isotropic.
Flexibility
Whether you want to create a spring, clips or fasteners, 301 stainless steel strip has the properties to meet your needs. This flexible material can adapt to your design, allowing you to bend and curve it to fit whatever form it takes. It is also easy to weld, reducing fabrication costs and saving time.
301 spring steel strip is available in many different hardness states, ranging from annealed (soft) to full hard, with each level offering specific strength and flexibility. This allows the strip to be adjusted to suit particular demands, ranging from the small spring in your watch wrist up to components in aerospace engineering that must remain strong and stable at high altitudes.
The hardness of a 301 spring steel strip is controlled by tempering, and can be further improved through the addition of alloys to boost the hardenability of the base metal. This results in a spring steel strip that is exceptionally tough and durable, while remaining highly flexible.
When purchasing a 301 stainless steel strip, look for a supplier who provides a wide range of packaging options, including oscillated and ribbon wound coils. This allows you to choose the option that best suits your needs, based on the amount of footage you want to use on individual coils and the type of packaging your equipment requires.
